Pepper wrapped her arms tightly around the back of his neck as she felt Tony shifting beneath her, moving both of their bodies so that she was settled back on the carpet. She felt her breathing as it became more shallow despite the fact that her heart pulsed fast and hard in her chest. She could feel the weight of his muscular stature as he settled against her and she kept her legs wrapped loosely around his waist, ankles crossed delicately across one another. He could feel the warmth of her skin as he lowered his head down to that one particular spot on her neck that made her gasp. Her fingers were running back through his hair now, giving a tug and pull every now and again as they clenched out of reaction to the feel of his goatee as it raked itself along her skin.
"We can't stay here," she breathed in response, her eyes closed as her head tilted back against the carpet. "You have Salt to look after...and I have work to do."
Excuses that sounded lame to her own ears - but so much better than the truth.
You know this can't happen. You know we can't be together. Not until you can find in yourself a man deserving of my love and believe it yourself.
She felt his hips as they shifted, grinding down against her and her lips parted in a soft cry.
"Tony..."
She needed to talk. Needed to say something. Needed to put an end to this before either one of them only managed to do something that would always regret.
But there was nothing in the world she wanted to do less.
God, I love you so much.
Her head dropped forward to rest against his shoulder as she fought back a single tear that threatened to run down her cheek at those words. One of her hands had moved to his back now and at the sound of them he felt her fingers clench, perfectly manicured nails raking across the muscles of his back. It was words she'd always prayed to someday hear...but for some reason, as she heard them now, it only made the ache all the worse.
"Tony...we can't." She had to physically fight back the urge to roll her hips upward in response to his and instead he could feel her give a writhe underneath him. She reached down and placed her hands on either side of his head, forcing him to look up at her for the first time and read the naked vulnerability in her eyes. "This...this isn't going to help anything. It's only going to make things that much more difficult and painful."